My Downward Lifestyle: Week 7

When I signed up for yoga teacher training, I knew benefits would come from it. I would get stronger and more flexible. I would make new friends, gain a better understanding of yoga and eventually be equipped to lead a class. But I had no idea how much happier it would make me.

This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

What is the ultimate goal of life? Perhaps the great philosophers of our time are better equipped to answer that question, but in my humble opinion it's simply to be happy.

Life throws a lot of curve balls our way. Tests are flunked, jobs are lost, hearts break and we lose people close to us. But if we can find a way to be happy at our core through it all, we're pretty lucky.

When I started my yoga journey in March, I was terrified. The training program was a huge time commitment. Between my demanding full-time job, social life and everything in between, how would I manage to stay sane? Would I be spread too thin?

I'm sure you've heard what they say about busy people: If you want something done, give it to a busy person. Knowing I had less time naturally made me more efficient -- I was faster at everything from replacing my Brita filter to writing stories at work.

Interestingly, I was doing all of these things with ease. I wasn't in a stressed out tizzy, I felt like I was gliding through life on a perpetual endorphin rush.

As the weeks progressed, I only got happier. The more yoga I practiced the better I felt, so I started going to two classes a night if my schedule allowed for it.

Don't get me wrong: I still had a bad days. I remember a particularly dreary Monday a few weeks ago in which everything seemed to be going wrong. It was raining, I realized I'd forgotten my wallet after spending a hellish half hour in Trader Joe's on the Upper West Side, I couldn't find my phone charger and I kept making typos in my articles.

My natural inclination was to call it a day and check out of life for the night. What was wrong with zoning out and re-watching the second season of Arrested Development? But at the last minute I headed to Strala, and the excitement I was greeted with immediately cheered me up. I ended up taking back-to-back yoga classes that night, and by 9 p.m. all was right in the world. I had gone from sad to happy in a matter of a few downward dogs and a crow pose.

When I signed up for yoga teacher training, I knew benefits would come from it. I would get stronger and more flexible. I would make new friends, gain a better understanding of yoga and eventually be equipped to lead a class. But I had no idea how much happier it would make me.

Yoga was a huge, happy surprise in my life that transformed me in ways I never could have imagined. Thank you for reading and sharing my journey with me. And if you haven't already, get out there and hit the mat! Namaste.